Law on Protection of Economic Competition takes Ukraine closer to EU standards

Law on Protection of Economic Competition takes Ukraine closer to EU standards

On Wednesday the Cabinet approved a bill to amend Article 6 of the Law of Ukraine “On protection of economic competition” in relation to leniency, the Information-Analytical Bulletin of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine reports.

As a result of bringing Ukrainian legislation in compliance with European standards, Article 6 of the Law of Ukraine “On protection of economic competition” in relation to leniency has been supplemented with two items.

Item 6 of this article establishes a possibility of mitigating liability for anticompetitive coordinated actions for persons who voluntarily notified the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) or its territorial office of such actions, but not the first, or provided information which is important for a decision in this matter. Item 7 establishes rules according to which the procedure for exemption from liability and leniency for individuals that caused anticompetitive coordinated actions is established by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine.

Thus, the Ukrainian legislation on protection of economic competition continues to be adapted to the EU competition laws. It is critical for the Ukrainian legal environment. Currently, AMCU leads several investigations, which might result in multi-million or even billion fines for suspected anti-competitive behavior. One of them is against the group of largest Ukrainian retailers, who were accused of conspiring to establish the prices for food commodities. If the companies are proven guilty, they will face a maximum fine. It is possible that the new items of Article 6 of the Law of Ukraine “On protection of economic competition” might soften penalties for several companies involved in the conspiracy.